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Dragon Gate USA
Dragon Gate USA was the sister promotion to Dragon Gate and was based primarily in the United States. It was developed as part of a continuing effort by Dragon Gate to expand outside of Japan and into other countries. Shows were generally run one weekend roughly every two months with the majority of them airing on pay-per-view or internet pay-per-view. Overview History On September 5 and 6, 2008, Dragon Gate ran a pair of shows in the United States, the first in Bell Gardens, California and the second in Waikiki, Hawaii. Based off the success of both shows, discussions were made internally to establish a sister promotion based in America. During a show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on April 14, 2009, Dragon Gate President Takashi Okamura announced the creation of Dragon Gate USA. Within a matter of days, Dragon Gate further announced that Satoshi Oji would serve as the DGUSA President, former Ring of Honor booker Gabe Sapolsky would be Vice President, and Full Impact Pro owner Sal Hamaoui would be Chief Operating Officer. In June, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA would be airing their shows on pay-per-view through G-Funk Sports and Entertainment, who had just ended business relations with Ring of Honor. The first show entitled "Open The Historic Gate" took place on July 25, 2009 at the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Most of the matches would then air on pay-per-view as "Enter The Dragon" beginning September 4, 2009. The show received a great deal of acclaim and was awarded Best Major Show of 2009 by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. DGUSA would introduce their own championships to be recognized both in its own promotion and Dragon Gate. The first, the Open The Freedom Gate Championship, was crowned on November 28, 2009 in a one-night tournament won by BxB Hulk. The second, the Open The United Gate Championship, was crowned during a three-night round robin tournament that ended on January 30, 2011 and won by Masato Yoshino and PAC. Both championships have since been defended at least once in Japan whereas Open The Dream Gate and Open The Brave Gate have been defended in DGUSA shows. While DGUSA would be the primary showcase for Dragon Gate talent in the United States, the promotion itself would also establish young, up-and-coming independent talent. If a wrestler manages to perk the interest of officials in Japan, they will book him on a tour across the Pacific in the main promotion as a means of their desire for DGUSA to succeed and as an additional source for developing new talent. Those who have been booked to date are Ricochet, Brodie Lee, Rich Swann, Chuck Taylor, Johnny Gargano, AR Fox, Uhaa Nation, Larry Dallas, Scott Reed, and Anthony Nese. On November 25, 2011, Dragon Gate USA and Evolve announced the unification of the two promotions. Dragon Gate USA and Evolve will still promote separate events, but the two share rosters, including stables, and Evolve recognized Dragon Gate USA's Open the Freedom Gate Championship and Open the United Gate Championship as its top two championships, until establishing its own championship, the Evolve Championship in 2012. On September 18, 2013, Vito LoGrasso announced that his new Wrestling School signed an agreement to be the Development Center for DGUSA. In November 2014, Dragon Gate USA, along with Evolve, Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Shine Wrestling, all under the WWNLive banner, held a tour of China. The following month, WWNLive announced a long-term deal with Great-Wall International Sports Management for regular tours of Asia, starting in the spring of 2015. On December 22, WWNLive announced it was putting Dragon Gate USA on an indefinite hiatus until the promotion could secure more Japanese wrestlers for their shows. In 2015, WWNLive opened a training facility in Trinity, Florida named "World Wrestling Network Academy", which Dragon Gate USA shares with Evolve, FIP and Shine. However, on August 15, 2015, DGUSA became dormant, with WWNLive focusing more on the Evolve brand. Roster Championships Events * Open The Historic Gate * Enter The Dragon * Untouchable * Freedom Fight * Fearless * Open The Ultimate Gate * Mercury Rising * Uprising * Bushido: Code of the Warrior * Dragon Gate USA Events Category:Promotions